Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips was born in Jamaica, and grew up in Canada. In 1972, he accepted Islam, and went on to study the religion in depth. He completed a diploma in the Arabic language, followed by a B.A. in Islamic Disciplines from the University of Madeenah in Saudi Arabia. He also received his M.A. in Islamic theology from the University of Riyadh, and his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from the University of Wales, UK. In 1994, he founded and directed the Islamic Information Center in Dubai, which he did until 2001. Over the years, he taught as a professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at various prestigious universities in the Middle East, and spent a good number of years teaching Islamic Studies at a private school in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Phillips has translated, written and published a wide variety of Islamic literature, and is a well-known speaker among Western audiences.